Nachiket Pantvaidya joins Balaji Telefilms' Alt Digital as CEO

Alt Digital will be launched in early 2016

ETBrandEquity

December 02, 2015, 07:54 IST

Nachiket PantvaidyaBalaji Telefilms has hired Nachiket Pantvaidya as the chief executive officer of Alt Digital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Balaji Telefilms. The company will be launching its digital services from early 2016. Alt Digital will develop on-demand for Balaji’s digital audiences, globally.

Pantvaidya will be responsible for the company’s profit and loss of operations, content, marketing and distribution. Prior to this, Pantvaidya was business head of Sony Entertainment Television. He has also worked with companies such as Star TV, Fox Television Studios, BBC and Disney.

Commenting on the development, Ekta Kapoor, joint managing director, Balaji Telefilms, said, “We are pleased to welcome Nachiket to the Balaji family. These are exciting times as Balaji takes a leap onto the digital landscape with ALT Digital -- a significant milestone in our growth story. We are most excited as Nachiket brings along not only a rich expanse of industry experience but also new energy and dynamic execution skills to lead our new venture and build a strong and valuable B2C brand."

Sameer Nair, group chief executive officer, Balaji Telefilms, said, “Nachiket shares our passion for entertainment, has extensive operational experience and brings with him an excellent understanding of the entertainment ecosystem as well as the transformation it is rapidly undergoing. I am confident that supported by a team that is amongst the best in the industry, ALT Digital is on course towards creating its own differentiated position as a leading digital entertainment content creator and distributor in India for global audiences. We look forward to working together, bringing our individual & collective strengths and expertise to the business and creating greater value for our shareholders.”

“I am delighted to be leading ALT Digital at a time when a tremendous mobile, video and ecommerce revolution is underway and media consumption across the globe is increasingly taking place in digital formats. The increase in the number of devices capable of supporting digital media along with increasing Internet access speed has provided consumers with an option to access the media content of choice - be it information, entertainment or social activity anytime, and anywhere. Against this backdrop, the opportunity to leverage Balaji Telefilms’ creative sensibilities as India’s leading production studio, to a new digital arena is most exciting. We will move from a conventional ‘one size fits all’ approach to a more evolved and targeted approach to marketing and creating unique and differentiated content,” added Pantvaidya.

Alt has also roped in Sunil Nair as its chief operating officer. Sudarshan Kadam will head the company’s alliance and partnerships division. Ashish Bhansali is appointed as the product head. Meenakshi Mediratta will lead the digital marketing team. Joyce Andrade will be responsible for content, product and ad operations.